Their Gardens, Secrets and Treasures

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I love this little garden. It’s a very small bright blue bonsai garden, with the land and water feature….simple, with a fairy on a leaf, with the garden’s treasure, a hanging candle for night light, and Timothy, the Toad, is sitting on a boulder in the bonsai pond. Sweet garden! xoxo

She was so relaxed, as she leaned back and went back and forth and back and forth and back and…wait! There was no forth! Oak went back on the swing and stayed there! Since she was in a “laid back” position anyway on the swing, she looked up and there was Sam…all 23 eyes of him…looking back at her! “Hi, Oak! Good to see ya again! Don’t be afraid, but you’re stuck in my web.” Sam kinda hung there, sheepishly looking back and forth, as Oak tried to get her bearings, as she wriggled around on the swing (which wasn’t easy, being hung up in the air like that). “Sam! What?” “Shhhhh,” Sam suddenly grabbed her hands and pulled her off the swing, onto a giant strand of web, which went from one end of the area (she still wasn’t sure what it was) to the other. Somehow, he literally put her on his back and wrapped a quick silk rope around her so she wouldn’t fall. and off they went, scurrying across the strand and then Sam threw (really) webs out of his hands so they could catch hold of each one and swing from one to the other, until they were up and over the gate. Oak could barely catch her breath because Sam flew so quickly. It really was like flying…from silken strand to the next.

Oak must have fallen asleep, because she suddenly found herself in a cave; a cave filled with webs of all colors…gold, silver, red, orange, white, black and on and on. Rather than spiders, there were fairies! Real fairies who were spinning the webs and placing them throughout the cave. Putting her little fists to her eyes to wipe the sleep away, Oak’s eyes opened as big as she could make them. Yes, the webs and the fairies were still there. “Oak!” “Thank goodness, Sam. You’re still with me,” she said as she went to hug him. His hugs were pretty snug because he had so many legs/arms with which to hug. “Of course, Oak, of course I’m with you!” With that, Sam swept her up again and they glided up on a golden strand of silk; the most beautiful golden she had ever seen. Up up up they went until they reached what appeared to be the upper floor of the cave, which really looked like a castle. Sam helped her down off the silken strand, and they walked toward a bright light that was shining from in front of them. The light was glowing and bright, yet not so bright one couldn’t look into it. It was amazing. As they approached the light, Oak could make out the form of a woman. There was something about this woman that seemed sweetly familiar. But, she had a silk veil of butterflies over most of her face and Oak could only see her eyes.

The woman stepped out from the light and just stood still and gazed about her surroundings. Oak noticed that everything was quiet and that the lady was looking over Oak’s head, so Oak turned around and almost gasped with awe, for the cave was now a soft gold and white. The little ledges up and down the walls of the cave had lovely fairies kneeling and facing this woman. Candles and torches were lit and lined the walls and pathways; stars that looked like they came down from the heavens were hanging from above and inside the frame of each star was a fairy playing a harp. The music from these harps was mesmerizing and dreamy. Oak could not stop looking around for in every direction she looked was a new surprise, a new delight. Tree frogs and lizards were dressed in light cotton robes and each had a special hat on that had tiny fireflies circling the brims of the hats. The frogs and lizards were bringing goblets of freshly mined golden grape juice. She knew this because she heard a baby girl fairy telling her friends.

Turning back to the woman, there was now a nest on the ground; or should I say on the “cloud”? First, it was a nest, but a big nest – big enough for a grown up fairy. The nest was made of beautiful twigs of cedar, birch, oak, and pine. Blended into the twigs were stems and leaves from herbs and flowers: lavender, roses petals, sage, rosemary and some marigold. The nest was lined with gardenia and plumeria blossoms. Now, although she thought it was on the floor, it was actually sitting upon a lavender colored cloud that had drifted down from the opening at the top of the cave. When the woman turned to walk toward the nest, that is when Oak saw the woman had wings! She had fairy wings! Not only did she have beautiful fairy wings, she also had hair just like Oak’s mother! It was long and wavy and reddish yellow…such a beautiful color. The woman still had her face veil on, as she went to step into the nest. But then butterflies flew from her veil to lift her long skirt so she would not trip. After she stepped into the nest and sat down, the butterflies then flew into the woman’s hair and became still, like beautiful hair pins.

Everyone in the cave knelt and then slowly rose. As they rose to their feet, the woman began speaking in a soft melodic voice (Oak was thinking it sounded like her mother). Now that she was facing everyone, it could be seen that her eyes were emerald green and soft, as soft as her voice. “My loved ones,” she began. Without warning, a fiery red smoke descended from the opening in the cave (at the top) and began circling the room, almost in the shape of pointing fingers; each poking at a fairy, or a lizard or a frog. The stench was horrific! The smoke seemed to take on the odor of a dead ogre. (Of course, Oak had never seen an ogre, much less smelled a live or dead one, but the smoke smelled like what she thought one would smell like). The ground began to shake and the little ledges that fairies were sitting on began breaking and falling to the earth like shards of glass, trying to stab and cut as they hit the ground. Thunder filled the chamber and was so loud that the fairies had to put their hands over their ears. But the thunder could not disguise or extinguish what Oak heard. It was her mother again, calling, “Oak, Oak, come home. You’re in danger. Come home.”

Turning to ask the fairy lady for help to get to her mother, Oak discovered she was gone! In her place, where the nest was, sat a giant dragon, who was looking straight at Oak, as smoked poured out of his nose. (to be continued)

This garden was created for a friend of a friend. He is in the hospital and my friend wanted something special to take him. The friend/patient is a Christian and so the garden is created around his faith. Rather than a fairy, I used a little boy angel, who is riding on top of a turtle. The turtle’s name is Tommy the Turtle. Also along for the ride is a ladybug. Timothy the Toad is sitting upon a rock in the pond. You’ll see the “treasure” in this garden is a silver cross. Also, a String of Pearls is growing in the garden.

This garden is in a bonsai pot, with the land and water features. I hope the patient loves it and I hope you do too! xoxo

Helene was just a young little girl…maybe around 8 or 9 years old. Her parents, Harold and Veronica could always spot their little girl from a distance; her halo of white/blonde curls seemed to radiate a wee golden cloud above her head. This is not to say they ever let her wander from them, but should they pass by her school playground, that gold cloud was always glowing like a yellow diamond dust mist. Helene, aside from being so pretty, was a very good girl who loved nature and animals; after all they’re all the same she would say. Often, her mother would find her petting a garden snail or talking to a lizard. Their gardens were full of these wonderful creatures of nature and you can be sure that Helene had given a name to every single one. She did have a favorite, Geoffrey. Actually, his full name was Geoffrey of Greenwood, since they lived in the village called Greenwood. He was a frog and a mighty handsome one! Helene and Geoffrey would spend many happy hours playing side by side, alongside the creek that ran next to the edge of the forest.

One day, Helene was lying on her back, counting all the tiny little clouds that were passing by. Today they were like little puffs of cotton, so there were many to count! Geoffrey was on his back too – counting flying bugs. “Helene, do you believe in fairies?” Helene turned her head and grinned. “Geoffrey! Everyone knows there’s no such thing as fairies. Don’t you know that?” Geoffrey looked up at the sky and continued the counting of the bugs. A minute or two went by, and Geoffrey jumped up and looked down at Helene. “Come! Follow me! I want to show you something in the forest.” “Hmmmmm”, Helene murmured. She wasn’t allowed in the forest, but she just knew if her parents knew Geoffrey, it would be OK. He was the nicest and sweetest person…uh…frog she had ever met! “Oh…OK, but only for a minute!” “Yay!” said Geoffrey. “Let’s go!”.

The woods were sort of dark, with just a little sunlight slipping through the spindly branches that had woven together. It seemed like she had walked forever, while Geoffrey jumped forever. Yet, he never jumped too far ahead of Helene, for fear she would become frightened. He knew there was nothing to be feared in this forest, for it was The Forest of Fairies and this family of fairies loved humans and nature just as much as Helene did. They just needed to guard their secret with a dark entrance to the forest because so many humans thought fairies were bad and did bad things. Well, that may be of some, but not these. Geoffrey prided himself on associating only with the best of the best; whether it be man, beast, flowers or bees!

“We’re here”, he proclaimed, as he jumped and plopped himself (Indian style) in the middle of a beautiful, yet small, enchanting meadow that appeared to have a spotlight on it, straight from the sun! Sweet little flowers of every color imaginable were everywhere! “Oh Geoffrey!” Helene squealed with delight, “It is perfect!” Helene skipped over to Geoffrey and, being the little lady she was, sat down and fluffed out her dress, like she had been taught. “What is this place?” Geoffrey leaned towards her and winked. “It’s The Forest of The Fairies.” Her eyes grew big and her mouth opened, but nothing came out; for approaching her was a beyond belief fairy, atop a pink cloud that had somehow dropped from the sky above and become a cloud something or other. Helene couldn’t speak and just stared. The fairy was in lavender, which perfectly matched the pink cloud. It was a lady fairy and she was about 4 inches tall, with flowing black hair and the bluest eyes anyone ever saw! “Whoa, ” said the fairy in a teensy tiny voice to the cloud. Stopping right at Helene’s feet, the fairy said, “I’m so happy to finally meet you after all this time.” Helene just sat there staring. She knew she should curtsy, or say something, but she couldn’t move. The fairy just smiled and said, “I know you’re a little surprised. It’s perfectly normal! You haven’t believed in fairies, but you do believe in something far more wonderful.” Helene finally found her voice. “What’s that?” Stepping a little closer, the fairy said, “You believe in and care about animals…all of nature!” Gently placing her hand on Helene’s cheek (it was so tiny it felt like a little feather), the fairy said, “I am the Queen of The Forest of Fairies. Ever since Geoffrey was barely still a tadpole, he would swim back to us and tell about you and your friends of the Earth. If Geoffrey approved of you, we knew you were special indeed.” Then she flitted down onto Helene’s knee and curtsied. “I am Queen Lavender Lily”. Helene giggled, “I’m Helene.” Queen Lavender smiled and said, “Helene, from this day forward you shall be known as Helene of The Clouds.” Stepping aside, Queen Lavender introduced Helene to the pink cloud. She said, “This is Pink of The Sky and he shall be your companion from this day forward. Should you ever need to move quickly from one place to another, all you have to do is clap your hands three times and he will be at your side.”

Helene was just so excited! Geoffrey was very touched by the Queen’s gestures and words extended to Helene. In a distance, Helene heard her mother calling for her. “Oh, I have to go! I am so pleased to have met you, Queen Lavender!” “I am as well, my dear. Please take Pink of The Sky with you and he’ll see you get to your mother quickly.” “TaTa my dear Helene – we will see each other again.” With those words, the Queen floated upwards and disappeared.

“Oh my”, exclaimed Helene as she found herself walking up to her mother in the kitchen of their house! (Gosh, Pink of The Sky is fast!) She ran to the window just in time to see Pink disappear. (Pink for short).

“Did you have a good day, Helene? I was worried when I didn’t see you in the back yard. But I’m happy to see you. Where did you go for those five minutes?” “Five minutes?” Helene looked at her mother. She thought to herself it had to be more than five minutes. “Yes, Honey. It was 4:00 when you went out and it’s 4:05 now”. Helene looked at her mother and said, “Dear Mother, I was thinking about how wonderful this world really is.” Helene’s mother looked at her and said, “Yes, darling it is.” Then they both looked through the window at the sky.